Room Air Conditioner – Cooling Off Your Carbon Emissions
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Depending on your geographic location, a room air conditioning unit may be very common and have a big impact on your carbon footprint. In fact, many homes in America will have several units, using up valuable energy and contributing to global warming caused by their high levels of carbon emissions.
When it comes to room air conditioners, the less it is used the better. If your unit does not have a timer, you can buy an add-on that will give this functionality to make sure it is not on when it is not needed and thus not growing your carbon footprint unnecessarily.
If possible, upgrading your air conditioning unit can create a big reduction in your carbon emissions. If all room air conditioning units in the US were upgraded to an energy efficient model, it would have the same impact on global warming as taking 100,000 cars off the road.
Buying a Room Air Conditioner to Cut Your Carbon Footprint
When you are looking for a new room air conditioner, there are some key things to look for to have the most impact on your carbon footprint. Be sure that you get a unit that is the correct size for the room it is going in. In reality, most people will buy one that is considerably too big for their room causing excessive carbon emissions.
First of all, you need to estimate the square footage of the room. Then consult the table below to find the required capacity (capacity for air conditioners is measured in ‘BTUs’ per hour). If the room receives a lot of sunlight, increase the required BTUs by 10%. If the room is mostly covered by shade, decrease the requirements by 10%. Finally, if the unit is to be used in the kitchen (which generates a lot of heat and carbon emissions) then increase the required BTUs by 4000. And that’s it! Fairly simple to get your required capacity that will allow you to get a unit of proper size, and prevent your carbon footprint from growing further.
Click here for a list of Energy Star approved air conditioning unit.
| Area to be Cooled (sq ft) | Capacity Needed (BTUs/hr) |
|---|---|
100 to 150 |
5,000 |
150 to 250 |
6,000 |
250 to 300 |
7,000 |
300 to 350 |
8,000 |
350 to 400 |
9,000 |
400 to 450 |
10,000 |
450 to 550 |
12,000 |
550 to 700 |
14,000 |
700 to 1000 |
18,000 |
1000 to 1200 |
21,000 |
1200 to 1400 |
23,000 |
1400 to 1500 |
24,000 |
1500 to 2000 |
30,000 |
2000 to 2500 |
34,000 |
|
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